Cooking with fruit, cherries, bananas

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Raw, baked, poached, and stewed, chef and former farmer Abra Berens pulls out her toolkit for cooking with fruit. Photo by EE Berger.

Abra Berens, a native Michigander, uses peak-of-the-season fruits in a wide array of preparations. From the Underground Railroad to the Oregon Trail, KCRW's Tyler Boudreaux traces the history of the Black Republican cherry. High in sugar and acid, cherries are in full swing at the Santa Monica Farmer's Market, and Clemence de Lutz has a recipe for the clafoutis she grew up making. Banana diversity in India makes the fruit ubiquitous and vital to the country's culture, as anthropologist Deepa Reddy explains. Kate Lebo's curiosity about fruit is endless, despite all the pits and its brief window of ripeness.